Hotel Connections, Ltd, a global provider of hotel accommodations for the crews of the aviation and other travel industries, has relocated their corporate headquarters in Miami to 6100 Waterford leasing 8,379 square feet, announced Jeannette Mendoza of Taylor & Mathis the property’s exclusive leasing agent.

“A location easily accessible to Miami International Airport was the driving factor in our headquarters search,” stated Hotel Connections CEO Kenneth Shanley. “6100 Waterford is located one stoplight from the airport as well as being easily accessible for our employees. With the ideal location, amenities and beautiful, newly renovated building, there wasn’t a better choice for our company than 6100 Waterford.” The building was named the 2012 Suburban Office Low Rise Building of the Year by the Miami-Dade chapter of BOMA (the Building Owners and Management Association).

The firm is currently occupying temporary space in the building while their new offices are being completed. Ryan Ackerman of CBRE co-brokered the transaction representing Hotel Connections, while Taylor & Mathis’ Jeannette Mendoza represented building owner MetLife.

6100 Waterford is located across from Miami International Airport within the 250-acre Waterford at Blue Lagoon corporate park. MetLife owns three buildings referred to as The Atrium Buildings: 6100, 6303 & 6505 Waterford. The properties recently underwent a million dollar renovation.

Espirito Santo Plaza is a 36-story mixed-use glass tower with an attached 12-story parking garage and 260,000 square feet of Class A office space. The Conrad Miami — Hilton Hotel’s luxury brand — features 203 guest rooms, a ballroom and meeting facilities and specialty retail/restaurant space. The top floors of the property consist of a fully equipped health club and 116 luxury condominium residences overlooking the soaring 11 story atrium.

Located on a full city block fronting at 1395 Brickell Avenue, in the heart of Miami’s international financial market, Espirito Santo Plaza’s main tower designed by KPF welcomes visitors with a dramatic 36 story concave figural arc symbolizing the gateway to Latin America. http://espiritosantoplaza.com/

355 Alhambra located in Coral Gables was named the Southern Region’s Office Building of the Year (TOBY) in the 100,000 – 249,999 square foot category. Congratulations to the exceptional Taylor & Mathis team on this award!

Miami, FL –– Littler Mendelson, P.C. (Littler), the world’s largest employment and labor law firm, and Studley, a commercial real estate services firm specializing in tenant lease representation, have signed long term leases for 17,317 and 7,580 square feet, respectively, at Wells Fargo Center in downtown Miami. Combined, the leases have a value of over $14 million.

“Adding two top notch firms like Littler Mendelson and Studley to the already impressive tenant roster at Wells Fargo Center re-emphasizes the prestige of this trophy asset,” stated Taylor & Mathis’s Brian Gale, who spearheads leasing efforts for owner MetLife. “As one of the top tenant rep firms in Miami, Studley knows the market as well as anyone. That they chose Wells Fargo Center for their South Florida headquarters speaks volumes about the quality of this prestigious downtown Miami office tower.”

“MetLife is extremely pleased to welcome such high caliber firms as Littler Mendelson and Studley to Wells Fargo Center. We are committed to a long-term investment in the development and look forward to growing our tenant roster with such high quality firms,” stated Chuck Davis, regional director of MetLife’s Tampa real estate investment office.

Carter Hopkins of CBRE co-brokered the transaction representing Littler Mendelson, which was recently named “Law Firm of the Year” in Labor Law – Management from U.S. News and Best Lawyers for the second consecutive year.

Greg Katz of Studley negotiated the lease transaction on behalf of Studley.

Wells Fargo Center is a 750,000 square foot Class A office tower located one city block off Interstate 95 at the Brickell Financial District of Downtown Miami’s Enterprise Zone. It is home to some of the most prominent and respected companies in the country, including Wells Fargo Bank; Greenberg, Traurig; Deloitte; and McDermott, Will & Emery. The office building shares a site with the first of its kind JW Marriott Marquis hotel and the first Hotel Beaux Arts, the new super luxury hotel of Marriott International luxury group. Tenants benefit from the five-star amenities of the hotel, which include dining, conference facilities, an entertainment complex, fitness center, salon and spa and the Jim McLean Golf School. For more information, visit http://www.wellsfargocentermiami.com

St. Petersburg is the perfect location for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Southern Region to reflect on the theme of the 2013 annual conference, the Art of Commercial Real Estate. With the release of the educational lineup scheduled for the conference, held April 10-13 at The Renaissance Vinoy, conference organizers again present the commercial real estate industry’s premiere professional event for delegates in the South.

“We have fashioned the conference to be a balance of educational, networking, and recognition opportunities to drive excitement around the careers, buildings, and efforts of our delegates,” said Kent Walling of Taylor and Mathis, conference co-chair and BOMA Southern Region President.

With a focus on The Art of Commercial Real Estate, led by highly regarded industry practitioners and subject-matter experts, the sessions will help delegates acquire key insights and practical know-how to bring tangible success to their buildings while also enhancing their own personal strengths. This collaborative meeting of the industry’s best minds includes over 25 sessions.

Topics include a welcome from Mayor Bill Foster; a distinguished panel of commercial real estate heavy hitters such as Chuck Davis of MetLife, Mary Jo Eaton of CBRE, and Ed Fritsch of Highwoods, which will be moderated by Carlton Fields Shareholder Donald Kirk; luncheon keynotes from Joe Markling of CBRE and BOMA International, and Henry Chamberlain of BOMA International; and a live preparedness event facilitated by Holley Wade of the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center. One afternoon session alone will host 13 customized power sessions for 2013, including topics on insurance, legal pitfalls, sustainability, advocacy, public relations, preparedness, technology, codes, customer service, BOMI education, executive director organization, driving membership, and doing business with receiverships.

Conference delegates will network at the Dali Museum and Duncan McClellan’s glass blowing hot shop, both in downtown St. Petersburg, as well as host a golf tournament at Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club. The capstone of the conference will be The Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards, a gala held at the Vinoy honoring the best performing buildings and personnel in the industry. “Educational offerings improve every year, and this year’s lineup hits all topics delegates need to stay relevant in the changing industry,” said ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Carol Dunn of Highwoods and conference co-chair.

Southern Region

BOMA Southern Region has provided commercial real estate with a forum to discuss, educate and advocate issues in the southern United States for almost 90 years. With 17 local associations and one state organization represented within the 9 states and 3,000 members, BOMA Southern Region has become a rich tapestry of the history of commercial real estate in the South. BOMA Southern Region welcomes our newest member organization BOMA Northern Alabama, located in Huntsville, Alabama. As one of the most active regions in BOMA International, BOMA Southern Region has utilized its position to provide leadership opportunities to our local members and training to our TOBY winners to improve and capitalize on the abundance of intellectual property that resides in our Southern Region members. Many members have risen to leadership positions in BOMA International, as BOMA International Officers, Chairs of Committees, Task Force Chairs, SIG Chairs and Committee members to support our industry. On the Web at www.bomasrc.org.

One Biscayne Tower, the 700,000 square foot Class A office tower located in downtown Miami has reached 85% occupancy with the completion of two leases totaling 16,266 square feet, for a value of almost $6 million, announced Taylor & Mathis. Northwestern Mutual and Peretz Chesal have signed new leases. The transactions were negotiated on behalf of the owner, by the Taylor & Mathis leasing team of Brian Gale, Andrew Trench and Ryan Holtzman.

Northwestern Mutual (http://miami.nmfn.com/) signed an 11.5 year lease for 10,066 square feet, while intellectual property lawyers Peretz Chesal Herrman (www.pch-iplaw.com) signed a 7-year lease for 6,200 square feet. Both tenants are leaving Miami Center for One Biscayne Tower, in the leases co-brokered by Tim Prunka of Prunka Realty Advisors.

“One Biscayne Tower is one of the best values for office space in Downtown Miami. The location, combined with the incredible views of Biscayne Bay, really appeals to law firms and professional service companies,” said Brian Gale, Taylor & Mathis Principal and Managing Director. For more information, visit http://www.onebiscaynetower.com

AECOM Technology Corporation has signed a lease for 7,054 square feet at One MetroCenter in Tampa’s Westshore Business District. The lease negotiated by Taylor & Mathis Director of Leasing, Angela Odell, brings the office building’s occupancy to 90%.

Strong, stable ownership was a key factor in the firm’s decision to relocate to One MetroCenter. The Fortune 500 Company is consolidating two existing offices to new offices at One MetroCenter. The 11-story building is part of MetWest International, a mixed-use development owned by MetLife. The lease was co-brokered by Jack Hoskins of CBRE.

About AECOM

AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government. With approximately 45,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering solutions that create, enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural, and social environments. A Fortune 500 company, AECOM serves clients in more than 140 countries and had revenue of $8.2 billion during the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2012.

About MetWest International

MetWest International is an award winning, mixed-use center developed by MetLife. Located across from Tampa International Airport and International Plaza in the Westshore Business District, MetWest International includes One MetroCenter, the Gold LEED Certified MetWest One and MetWest Two. A third office building will be started as demand dictates. Three well known restaurants, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, Kona Grill and Texas de Brazil, have located their first Tampa locations in the project’s retail village. When complete, the pedestrian-friendly, urban-oriented development and is expected toinclude:

Nearly one million square feet of Class A office space

74,200 square foot retail village

260 room full-service upscale hotel

254 residential units

The project has received four Best of the Best NAIOP awards, including Outstanding Green Building/Project,OutstandingOfficeBuilding(MetWest One) and Outstanding Retail Building. Additionally, Taylor & Mathis was awarded Developer of the Year for their role in developing the mixed-use project. Taylor & Mathis serves as the development manager for the project and handles office leasing and management responsibilities.

Other awards include The United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Florida Gulf Coast Chapter Outstanding Project of the Year (MetWest One), The Greater Tampa Bay chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)OfficeBuildingof the Year and the BOMA 360 Performance Building designation (One MetroCenter). Both MetWest One and One MetroCenter have achieved EPA Energy Star ratings. In addition, MetWest Two has been designed for LEED Certification by the US Green Building Council.